Smartphone Controlled Rover

Introduction: Smartphone Controlled Rover

Hello! Today I will show you how to make a simple Rover robot with make block electronics.

Step 1: Parts

You can get all of the parts for this robot from Makeblock.

All of the parts are identified in the image (except for a couple).

For the rover, you will need:

Battery Pack

25mm DC motors (2)

9x2 hole beams (3)

11x2 hole beams (2)

Orion Microcontroller (1)

BLE Module (1)

Ultrasonic Distance sensor (1)

Motor Brackets

Motor wires

Module connector cables

48 tooth gear wheel (2) with tires (2)

Ball caster wheel

Shaft connector 4mm (2) with inset screws (2)

Zip ties

Hardware pack (1) comes with tools and varies screw lengths

Step 2: Build the Frame

The frame is made out of the 9x2 beams on the inside and the 11x2 beams on the outside. It'll be hard to explain the construction, so look at the pictures for guidance. All the locations of the holes are in terms of the left of the 11x2 beam to the right of it.

Screw in a 9x2 beam in the top last hole of a 11x2 beam. Screw in the other 11x2 beam in the corresponding hole on the opposite side of the 9x2 beam.

Screw in another 9x2 beam on the opposite side of the first beam in the same way you screwed in the first beam.

Line up the third 9x2 beam on the top 5th and 6th hole of the frame you just built. Screw in the beam through 6th hole on both sides.

Now you need to install the motors. Put the brackets on the motors with the M3 screws. Find the top middle hole on the brackets. Run the rods of the motors through the bottom 10th holes of the 11x2 beams and secure the brackets through the top middle holes in the bottom 9th hole of the 11x2 beams. I know that's a lot to stomach so take a quick break and take in that face.

Step 3: Add the Wheels

Now you need to put the wheels on the frame.

Put the tires on to the 48 tooth gears. Now, line up the threaded holes of the shaft connector line up with the holes on the wheel. Run screws through the wheel and into the threaded holes of the shafted connector. Screw until they're tight and you now have a finished wheel. Do the same for the other wheel.

Now find the inset screws in the shaft collars. Slide the wheels on to the exposed motor shafts and tighten those screws.

Find the ball caster wheel. Now use to screws to attach it to the back bar of the frame. It should look like the picture above at the end.

Step 4: Electronics

Find all of your electronics boards, connectors cables and find the battery pack. Connect the motors and modules as shown in the images. The connector cable with no module on it should be connected to the BLE module. I added an extra module in the images, so you can ignore everything coming out of port 6.

Also, screw the Ultrasonic sensor to the front beam. Make sure to center the sensor when you're screwing it in.

Screw in the BLE module and the Orion microcontroller to the bottom of the middle 9x2 beam.

Screw the battery pack on the back 9x2 beam.

That's it for the construction. Now you need to know how to control your rover. You need to download the Makeblock app form the app store. Once you have done that, tap on the option to create a new project. Name it whatever you want. Go to the menu with all of the "blocks" (not the programming one, but the other menu), and select the Joystick under the motion tab and the ultrasonic sensor under the sensors tab. Turn on your bot and connect it to the program. Now you can control your brand-new rover robot. Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Making!